Enugu Governorship Election Tribunal Dismisses Application to Halt Swearing-In of Governor-elect

The Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has rejected an application seeking to prevent the inauguration of Governor-elect, Peter Mbah, on May 29, 2023. The African Democratic Party’s Enugu gubernatorial candidate, Nnamdi Omeje, and his party, have contested the outcome of the March 18 election, where the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Mba was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Omeje and his party alleged that the voting exercise was marred by overvoting, intimidation, and non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act and INEC guidelines. They then proceeded to file a petition against the election before the tribunal, urging it to issue an interlocutory order that would restrain the Governor-elect from being inaugurated. The tribunal, however, dismissed the motion for lacking merit after considering all the reliefs sought by the petitioner and their arguments. Mbah is expected to be sworn in on May 29, 2023, as the Executive Governor of Enugu State.